China's air passenger traffic in the first half rose to 73.99 million, a 17.5 percent year-on-year increase, with cargo tarffic rising to 1.56 million tons, a 11.5 percent growth, the General Administartion of Civil Aviation of China (CCAC) said, Forbes reported. In the first half of 2006, passenger traffic on domestic routes was up 18 percent year-on-year at 67.56 million while cargo traffic rose 12.7 percent to 1.18 million tons, according to the official statistics.   Passenger load factor for the period was 71.9 percent for scheduled flights, a 2.9 percent year-on-year up, Forbes wrote.